Super Eagles stars Terem Moffi and Zaidu Sanusi shone for Porto, as they claimed a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Stuttgart on Thursday, Soccernet.ng reports.
Moffi and Sanusi were in the starting eleven for Porto when they traveled to MHPArena to take on Stuttgart in the first leg of their Europa League clash.
Going into the fixture, the German side were the favourites, but the Dragons showed fight, zeal and desire to run out with a result.
Both teams got some half-chances in the early embers of the fixture, but it was the Dragons who got the opener after 21 minutes.
They went on a quick attack with some intricate passes in the final third. Then, Borja Sainz teed up Moffi inside of the area with a sweet pass. The Super Eagles star took a touch, and struck the ball with venom to send it into the net and make it 1-0.
Moffi could have doubled his tally just three minutes later after connecting with a pass on the edge of the area and struck the ball towards goal. But Alexander Nubel reacted well to push the ball behind for a corner.
But in the 27th minute, Rodrigo Mora struck for Porto. And this time, Sanusi was involved. He showed great pace to intercept a bad pass in midfield, dashed forward, and sent a cross into the area which Mora got on the end of and nudge the ball into the net to make it 2-0.
However, Stuttgart managed to pull one back five minutes the break, courtesy of Deniz Undav, making it 2-1.
In the second half, both sides continued to attack each other and exploit the spaces behind. Sanusi nearly got his own goal in the 57th minute, after a glancing header at goal. But his effort was saved by Nubel.
In the 70th minute, Stuttgart thought Angelo Stiller had given them the lead after he put the ball in the net. But it was ruled out for offside.
Moffi played 59 minutes for Porto before he was hauled off and replaced by Deniz Gul. Eventually his goal was key, as Porto ran out with the 2-1 win after 90 minutes.
Can Terem Moffi And Zaidu Sanusi Help Porto Close Stuttgart?
With the first leg already done, Porto will be looking to close the tie in Portugal next week.
The Estadio Dragao is usually a fortress, and Porto will be looking to take advantage of that. Super Eagles stars, Terem Moffi and Zaidu Sanusi will be hoping to play important roles for their team, as they look to book a slot in the quarterfinals of the Europa League.
The German side will enter the tie will all their arsenal due to the deficit they need to overturn, and that should give Porto some loopholes to exploit.
Judging by the way the first leg went, the second leg is expected to be a real thriller.
